Journey with Confidence RV GPS App RV Trip Planner RV LIFE Campground Reviews RV Maintenance Take a Speed Test Free 7 Day Trial ×
 


Reply
 
Thread Tools Display Modes
 
Old 01-30-2019, 04:30 PM   #21
Senior Member
 
marret's Avatar
 
Join Date: Nov 2016
Location: FL and VA
Posts: 1,948
Garage
Congrats, looks great.

__________________
Chris
2008 GMC 3500 Quigley Weldtec 4x4 Savana SMB
marret is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 01-30-2019, 05:31 PM   #22
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Nov 2015
Location: Massachusetts
Posts: 113
I finally secured a sheet of 1 inch thick HDPE plastic to use as a mounting board for my Airhead toilet in place of the painted plywood I had been using.

I attached the mounting board to the teak shower mat using stainless bolts and tee nuts. I sized the dimensions so it fits snugly in my shower pan. Neither the toilet or the shower mat are going to be sliding around.

I can easily unbolt the mounting board from the teak mat to remove both for cleaning.



grinnelljd is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 02-01-2019, 01:09 PM   #23
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Nov 2015
Location: Massachusetts
Posts: 113
I realized I had some self-adhesive foil covered butyl mat, used for sound dampening car doors, and thought it would be the perfect material to add a little extra insulation to our RV fridge. It may also quiet any rattles in the fridge body.

I would have loved to use a thicker mat material, but the tolerances are tight; the fridge will barely fit back into the space with the material applied to the top and sides.

Just waiting for the heater in the RV to warm things up so that the self-adhesive mats will stick properly.

grinnelljd is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 02-01-2019, 01:22 PM   #24
Site Team
 
BroncoHauler's Avatar
 
Join Date: May 2007
Location: Southern New Mexico
Posts: 10,177
Quote:
Originally Posted by grinnelljd View Post
I realized I had some self-adhesive foil covered butyl mat, used for sound dampening car doors, and thought it would be the perfect material to add a little extra insulation to our RV fridge. It may also quiet any rattles in the fridge body.
That should work, but you may have the unintended consequence of causing your fridge to run hotter. The metal fridge body does a pretty decent job of radiating heat, so by insulating that, you may cause your fridge to have to work very hard.

I would let the fridge run for 6-8 hours, and then place your hand on various parts of the fridge body to see how hot it gets.

Could you place the insulation on the interior of the cabinet instead, where it's out of sight?


Herb
__________________
SMB-less as of 02/04/2012. Our savings account is richer, but our adventures are poorer.
BroncoHauler is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 02-01-2019, 04:36 PM   #25
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Nov 2015
Location: Massachusetts
Posts: 113
Quote:
Originally Posted by BroncoHauler View Post
That should work, but you may have the unintended consequence of causing your fridge to run hotter. The metal fridge body does a pretty decent job of radiating heat, so by insulating that, you may cause your fridge to have to work very hard.

I would let the fridge run for 6-8 hours, and then place your hand on various parts of the fridge body to see how hot it gets.

Could you place the insulation on the interior of the cabinet instead, where it's out of sight?


Herb
I was careful to only insulate the top and sides of the refrigerator. I didn't add anything to the rear or bottom for fear of blocking the vents or coils. Putting extra insulation around your RV fridge is pretty common, but you do have to ensure that you don't interfere with its operation or you will cause the fridge to work harder.

I can add some extra insulation to the top of the fridge after removing the lower drawer, just above it. I'm thinking I can add a 1-inch slab of foam insulation there, but I may have to add it in sections in order for it to fit through the drawer cutout. I'll also have to secure it so that it doesn't slide around, but is also easy to remove because I won't be able to slide the fridge out with that still affixed to the top of the fridge.
grinnelljd is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 02-02-2019, 11:56 AM   #26
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Nov 2015
Location: Massachusetts
Posts: 113
Quote:
Originally Posted by grinnelljd View Post
I can add some extra insulation to the top of the fridge after removing the lower drawer, just above it. I'm thinking I can add a 1-inch slab of foam insulation there, but I may have to add it in sections in order for it to fit through the drawer cutout. I'll also have to secure it so that it doesn't slide around, but is also easy to remove because I won't be able to slide the fridge out with that still affixed to the top of the fridge.
After examining the cabinet I won't be able to add additional insulation above the fridge as the cabinet around the fridge is completely closed on top. I suspected as much once I looked again at the photo and saw how the trim was running horizontally just below the lower drawer, but I confirmed it this morning. No access or any real space above the fridge for it after I added the aluminized butyl mats. Oh well, a little extra insulation is better than no insulation.
grinnelljd is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 02-03-2019, 05:46 PM   #27
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Nov 2015
Location: Massachusetts
Posts: 113
My hydronic heat exchanger for hot air is placed so there is about a 1-inch gap between the forward face of the heat exchanger and the grill in the cabinet face.

This allowed a lot of hot air to escape into the cabinet instead of blowing into the cabin. I installed a baffle made from a silicone mat to close the gap so that more hot air blows into the cabin.



grinnelljd is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 02-18-2019, 06:53 PM   #28
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Nov 2015
Location: Massachusetts
Posts: 113
I was back in the Central NY area to visit with family and spent the evening in my sister's driveway during some heavy freezing rain.

The storm left up to 1/2 inch of solid ice on my van, mostly on the passenger side which was facing into the wind. I couldn't exit the van from the slider door and had to use my driver's door.

I started up the van and left it at high idle for an hour with the heat on full to melt the ice. Even after an hour, with the inside temp hitting 107F, the ice was still clinging tenaciously to the side of the van. It took another full hour of waiting to melt the ice enough to remove it from the van and make it safe to drive.





grinnelljd is offline   Reply With Quote
Reply

Thread Tools
Display Modes

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off
Trackbacks are Off
Pingbacks are Off
Refbacks are Off

» Featured Campgrounds

Reviews provided by

Powered by vBadvanced CMPS v3.2.3
Disclaimer:

This website is not affiliated with or endorsed by Sportsmobile SIP or any of its affiliates. This is an independent, unofficial site.


All times are GMT -6. The time now is 02:47 AM.


Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.8 Beta 4
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, vBulletin Solutions, Inc.